Intense workouts and delicious wholesome food!

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Workouts

Well it may have been too long since the last time I wrote, but the workouts haven’t stopped and neither has the healthy eating! My original workouts are starting to really kick my ass. Exhibit A:

This was after today’s workout, which is the last one on the list here. It’s the first time I’ve done box jumps and now I understand the fuss. They feel to me like burpees did before I did the 90 Day Burpee Challenge. Great way to get your heart rate UP! I found that following them up with snatches and the kettlebell renegade row was really brutal. It made pull-ups a relief, which is saying a lot. So without further ado here is my backlog of original workouts to share. Don’t forget to scroll to the bottom for a delicious smoothie recipe. 🙂

7/6/13

Buy-In: 10 Burpees

45 sec activity/15 sec rest/3 rounds

KB Snatch-Reverse Lunge R

KB Snatch-Reverse Lunge L

Double KB step-ups

Elevated Plank Pushup/Knee Tuck

Ab roller

Weighted Sit-Ups

Buy-Out: 10 Burpees

7/12/13

45 sec activity/15 sec rest/2 rounds

KB Swings

KB Clean R

KB Clean L

KB Reverse Lunge

Weighted Lunge Twists

KB Renegade Row

Reverse Crunch

Side-Plank Toe Touch

Front plank

Pull-ups

7/16/13

45 sec activity/15 sec rest/3 rounds

6 Turkish Getups (3 each side)

KB Single-leg Deadlift R

KB Single-leg Deadlift R

Ab Roller

Weighted Ab Twists

Pilates Hundreds

Plank w/ Knee Tuck

7/18/13

45 sec activity/15 sec rest/2 rounds

KB Swings

Thruster R

Thruster L

KB Bent-Over Row

Weighted Lunge-Twist

Plank->Side Planks

Dive Bombers

Pilates Sit-Ups

Bicycle w/ out-and-in-arms

Pull-ups

8/2/13 – Time Challenge, 3 Rounds (My Time: 18:45)

Box jumps x 20

KB Snatch R x 10

KB Snatch L x 10

KB Renegade Row x 10

Lunge Twist R x 5

Lunge Twist L x 5

Pull ups x 3-10 depending on your fitness level

And now for something completely different delicious…

Raspberry Mint Smoothie

I’m on a mint kick right now and have really enjoyed adding it to my smoothies. It’s great for digestion and adds a nice refreshing kick to the smoothie. I’ve also learned that many fresh herbs go well in smoothies and have lately enjoyed cilantro and basil; can’t wait to find more good combinations!

Ingredients:

1/2 cup coconut milk

1/2 cup pomegranate juice

1 tbsp flax seeds (or try using sprouted flax or chia seeds!)

1 handful spinach

2-3 sprigs of mint

1/2 package frozen raspberries

Mix that up in your blender until smooth and you will have a sucka-punch of flavor to your face!

Speaking of sprouted flax and chia seeds, that’s been my latest experiment and I’m pretty happy with the results:

That is chia on the left and flax on the right. It took only a week to go from seed to overflowing sprouts that were pushing the top of the container off. They added a really nice fresh flavor to my smoothies and some wonderful nutrients. The one thing I haven’t been able to find out is if sprouted flax and chia are more or less nutritious than the raw seeds. If anyone has info on that I’d love to see it!

One of my friends, Rosie of Rock Bodies, is a personal trainer who often posts delicious healthy recipes to Facebook. She found a recipe for pancakes that uses just two ingredients: banana and eggs. Seriously, that’s it. They are AMAZING. Before I made them though I had to finish my workout for the day (especially since I was having local sausage with my pancakes).

Today I wanted to focus on arms and abs. Yesterday I did Zuzka’s ZShred #3 which was a legs-intensive high-intensity workout. I really prefer full-body workouts and while I felt like a new person after this workout, it ended up being too much for me and I am HURTING today. So I decided to take it easier on my legs. This workout will definitely get your heart rate up but it’s primarily a strength training workout and while it’s an upper-body focus there’s definitely leg involvement as well.

6/29/13 – Set interval timer to 2 rounds 45 sec activity, 15 sec rest

KB Swing

KB Snatch R

KB Snatch L

Weighted pilates sit-ups

Plank climbers

Pull-ups (as many as you can do

Dive bombers

Renegade Row

Single-Leg deadlifts

Dragon flags

Once you’ve completed that you deserve some pancakes right?

Paleo High Protein Pancakes

Ingredients:

2 Eggs

1 Banana

Optional: pinch of cinnamon

Optional: ~1tbsp protein powder or tapioca flour

Directions:

Beat the banana and egg together. You’re done making the batter! No, seriously, this recipe couldn’t be easier. I used my Vitamix to mix them but you can easily do it by hand. I added cinnamon, which turned out great. I also made the mistake of using jumbo eggs so my batter was a bit too thin so I added some tapioca flour to thicken it. You can use protein powder as a thickener if you prefer (I recommend using a plant-based powder without GMOs, soy or whey).

Cook on skillet like normal pancakes. I recommend making them small and thin (the large one in the picture was to finish off my batter).

I found with the sweetness of the banana no syrup was necessary, though I’m sure if you like you can add some maple syrup or agave. Enjoy!!

It has have been a while since my last entry but I’m still going STRONG on workouts and sticking to my food allergy/healthy diet. I’m really enjoying seeing my muscle tone improve and I’ve been taking on new challenges. I’ve fallen in love with kettlebells and have also added some heavier free weights to my collection. My biggest struggle continues to be learning to do pullups. So far I can do ONE unassisted and that’s a good start.

To keep my workouts interesting I’ve been varying things a bit. I’m generally doing two Zuzka workouts per week (I’ve shelled out for her new ZGYM and in full honesty the first two workouts were worth more than the $10/mo price tag; they’re way harder than her free ZWOWs). I also do two workouts inspired by myomytv.com, which offers awesome free kettlebell and bodyweight workouts. I say “inspired” because while I sometimes outright do one of their routines, I’ve been experimenting with creating my own routines and so far I’m kicking my own ass. 🙂 I also do 1-2 pilates or yoga workouts per week. On top of that I’m still running 1.6 miles per day, happily on the Mad River Path with my pup. This has been a good mix for me and gets me moving at least an hour per day six times a week. I take a day off to rest.

I’m going to start posting my self-made workouts here. I’m not comfy recording videos yet, but I think I’d like to in the future. So here are my three most recent WOD’s. If you need a better description of the exercise just ask! I’d consider these intermediate->advanced. If you want to do them just listen to your body and adjust as needed. Beginners should use lighter weights, shorter reps and a longer resting period. If you’re more advanced use heavier weights, longer reps and a shorter resting period. In general I’m using a 25lb kettlebell (or two for doubles). My free-weights range from 5lb->20lb.

And now for recipes! This past Saturday I hosted a large dinner party for my family. Along with accommodating my long list of food allergies, I also had to make the meal low-carb/sugar for my father who’s diabetic, low-salt for his wife who has high BP, dairy/gluten free for my sister-in-law (this is in line with my own diet too) and garlic-free for my brother. Even more importantly, I wanted it to be FREAKING DELICIOUS to help show that you don’t have to eat crappy-tasting food just because you have a dietary restriction. Also, since my family showered me with a ton of pie-making paraphernalia for Christmas, I made the meal Pie-themed.

2 large heads cauliflower, trimmed, chopped and steamed until very soft (I used one white and one yellow)

1/4 cup coconut milk

2 tbsp Earth Balance or Virgin Coconut Oil

Directions

Preheat oven to 375ºF.

Heat olive oil in a large sauce pan. Add onions and cook, stirring occasionally, until soft. Add shallots and cook for another few minutes.

Add bacon and sauté until cooked, ~10 minutes (note: the bacon will not crisp, that’s ok).

Add the carrots, celery and mushrooms and sauté until soft (it’s ok of the carrots stay a bit firm), ~10 mins.

Add the meats, herbs, salt and pepper and sauté until browned.

Add the stock, wine, coconut aminos and a paprika. Stir and cook down broth until it’s ~60% evaporated.

Meanwhile, add the cauliflower, coconut milk, Earth Balance/VCO, and a pinch of salt and pepper to your food processor and blend until it’s the consistency of mashed potatoes; this will not take long. Taste-test and see if you need to add more salt and pepper.

Pour the filling into a pie plate and top with the cauliflower mash. Add a pinch of smoked paprika to the top for decoration if you like.

Cook at 375ºF for 30 minutes, or until the inside is bubbly and the top is slightly firm. Let cool for ~10 mins before serving.

Add the water one tbsp at a time while mixing until the dough reaches the proper consistency (it should hold together well but not be sticky).

Separate into two balls, wrap in plastic wrap or parchment and put in the fridge for at least 30 minutes.

Roll out dough and add bottom crust to a greased and floured pie plate.

Filling:

Preheat oven to 425ºF.

Mix the rhubarb, strawberries, tapioca, flour, zest and juice of lemon, dash of cinnamon, and vanilla.

Mix well in a large bowl and pour out into bottom crust.

Dot with butter.

Roll out top crust and top the pie (if you want to do the lattice design I did use a pizza-cutter to cut strips of the rolled-dough and a long spatula to carefully lift the crust from the counter to the pie).

Brush top of crust with beaten egg yolk.

Wrap aluminum foil loosely around the outside edge of the crust to protect the crust from burning.

Cook at 425ºF for 15 minutes, then drop the temperature to 375ºF and cook for another 40 minutes. The crust should be golden brown and the filling should be bubbling. I found the gluten free crust cooks faster than when using traditional flour so keep an eye on the pie so it doesn’t get over-cooked. Cool before serving.

I’d love to know if you try my recipes or workouts. Please pass along your feedback! Now it’s time for a run!